Read It' gets the silent treatment on YouTube

Abbe Klebanoff, director of public services for the Lansdowne Public Library and one of the creaters of the video “Read it” stands in front of the library mural in her office. (Times staff / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

LANSDOWNE — Abbe Klebanoff was preparing a presentation Monday as part of an awards ceremony she and two other Lansdowne librarians plan to attend in October for a video called “Read It,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Beat It,” when she made a startling discovery on YouTube.

The award-winning video, which was produced by the Lansdowne Public Library Teen Advisory Board to promote reading and has had nearly 15,600 views since it was first posted last Nov. 16, had been muted.

“I have to make a presentation and I wanted stills and I wanted to play it on a loop, that’s when I noticed it. I couldn’t believe it — again!” said Klebanoff, head of public services for the library.

Klebanoff spent more than a week last November trying to get the entire 3-minute, 9-second video restored to YouTube after it had been removed Nov. 19 for a potential copyright infringement. A notation on the YouTube website last November incorrectly directed her to Warner Chappell, who had sold the rights to Sony/ATV Music in August 2012. After Klebanoff lobbied officials at Sony/ATV Music, they allowed the video to be restored to YouTube on Nov. 27 because, a spokesman said, “It is a well-intentioned effort by students to motivate kids to read.” YouTube then sent Klebanoff an email that stated: “Warner Chappell has released its copyright claim on your video ‘Read It’” even though the copyright is administered by Sony/ATV Music.

Last year, a Sony/ATV spokesman explained that YouTube polices itself for potential copyright infringement and has the power to block or unblock videos.

Apparently YouTube is behind the current muting of the Lansdowne Library’s “Read It” video.

A message beneath the muted video states: “This video previously contained a copyrighted audio track. Due to a claim by a copyright holder, the audio track has been muted.”

That is news to Sony/ATV officials.

“Sony is not the reason for the video being blocked,” said a Sony/ATV spokesman on Wednesday afternoon.

Klebanoff also received a message in her video manager file that stated: “Your video may include music that is owned by a third party. The audio track of your video is muted. It may be possible to resolve this claim by removing the matching music.”

Representatives of Google, owner of YouTube, did not respond to requests through its press phone line and email for clarification of its policies for monitoring potential copyright infringement and blocking and unblocking videos either last November or by press time Wednesday.

Klebanoff said when she attempted to reach someone by telephone at YouTube corporate offices in California in an effort to get the sound restored to the video, a recorded message offered her no option for speaking with a person.

“The fact that there is no recourse, no one to explain the situation to, that Sony said it is OK (to post the video with audio), I find disturbing,” she said.

Klebanoff noted that she is also confused by the fact that on the same YouTube page as Lansdowne Library’s “Read It” video is another video parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” song, also titled “Read It,” and features teenagers promoting reading. It was posted by SearchKindly.org on Jan. 7, 2008, and is permitted to play with audio.

“They use the MJ music and write new lyrics. It was uploaded in 2008 and has 56,000 views. They do the same thing we did, yet two times in 12 months our video was pulled,” said Klebanoff.

Despite its trials and tribulations with YouTube, the Delaware County teenagers’ “Read It” video has earned a Best Practices Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association for the Lansdowne Library. Klebanoff along with Library Director Sandra Giannella and Rachee Fagg, head of the library’s children services, plan to make a presentation to the association about “Read It” Oct. 20 at the Seven Springs Mountain Resort in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. Klebanoff said she fortunately has the original video to feature at the presentation, so the audience won’t have to settle for a silent film on YouTube.